


Mi Amor.

by colorfilledcalamity



Series: Mi Amor: A Compendium of Love. [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: (more-so implied established relationship but it is still established), (what even are tags!!!), Also as sort of a surrogate mom, Amity loves Lilith (As a Mentor), Angst, Canon Universe, Drama, Established Relationship, F/F, Kidnapping, Lilith is lowkey evil but for real this time, Memory stuff comes into play, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, post-season one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26802379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colorfilledcalamity/pseuds/colorfilledcalamity
Summary: Amity Blight misses her mentor. And when she finds out that her mentor is currently taking residence at the Owl House, she jumps at the chance to go see her once more. However, after the meeting goes awry, everyone finds out a horrific truth: Amity was kidnapped and taken to the Emperor's Castle, and will only be let go if Eda and Luz surrender themselves to Emperor Belos. Eda and Luz are forced to make tough, life-altering decisions that may change the course of their entire lives, but Luz could care less: She would do anything to rescue Amity.Even if rescuing Amity meant she lost her life.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Series: Mi Amor: A Compendium of Love. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1954663
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	1. Initial.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my series! This is my first series thing on this account (my first work ever on this account in general) and I really hope you all enjoy it. I will be updating this every afternoon in PST on Saturday. I hope everyone enjoys it! (PS sorry if the format is a bit weird AO3 loves to mess with formatting I guess)

"And that's the story of how Eda got kidnapped and almost petrified, of how the human world portal got destroyed, and why Lilith is living with us now!"

  
Amity felt her jaw drop in disbelief as Luz finished her tale, although she quickly closed it. She could not believe her broken leg caused her to miss all of this. She had seen the news of Eda's petrification on the Hex Network, and had faith that Luz would rescue her, but the fact that there was way more to it than just that boggled Amity's mind. 

  
As Amity pondered the story silently for a few moments, a few details from Luz's story sunk in: Lilith. Amity's mentor. Amity's friend. Lilith had cursed Eda. Lilith, hell bent on capturing Eda, finally succeeded. Amity knew of Lilith's goals to capture a specific someone; Lilith had been telling Amity so ever since they became a mentor and apprentice respectively. Amity had no idea that it was Eda, though...

  
Suddenly, Amity got snapped out of her thoughts by a light tapping sound.

  
"Demon Realm to Amity, hello?" It was Gus's voice. Amity turned around and saw that Gus and Willow were standing behind her, holding their lunch trays.

  
"We've been trying to get your attention!" Willow frowned. "Are you alright?"

  
"Why wouldn't I be-" Amity paused. She felt something wet under her eyes and put her hand to her face to wipe it off. Her confusion at what it was soon went away as the realization dawned on her.

  
She had been crying.

  
"Are you sure you're okay?" Gus pressed. Amity wiped the tears off of her face and nodded. 

  
"I'm sorry if what I said about Lilith upset you, Amity," Luz chimed in, putting her outstretched arm on the cafeteria table and holding her hand out. Amity smiled and clasped Luz's hand with her own as Gus and Willow sat on either side of her. "Lilith is trying her hardest to change, I promise."

  
"Can I see her after school?" Amity questioned, looking down at her legs. "I... I miss her."

  
"Of course you can!" Luz replied. "I'm sure she'd be happy to see you."

  
And so it was settled. Amity would be going to The Owl House after school to see her semi-estranged mentor. Amity knew that their relationship could not continue like before. Lilith was most likely exiled from the Emperor's Coven, and she had no magical powers anymore. Despite this, Amity still wanted to see her. Lilith was not just her mentor. Lilith was her friend. 

  
After school, Luz and Amity walked side-by-side to The Owl House. 

  
"So, what are you going to talk about with her?" Luz asked Amity.

  
"I'm not sure yet," Amity answered. "I just know I want to see her."

  
Neither of them said a word after that, with Amity pondering conversations she could have with Lilith and Luz assuming that Amity needed space. After a few minutes of silence, however, they finally arrived at The Owl House.

  
"Hey, Luz and Amity!" The voice of Hooty could be heard as the two stepped in front of The Owl House's front door. "Have fun at whatever school is supposed to be?"

  
"Lilith's room is on the third, down the hallway, and in the first room to the left." Luz explained, ignoring Hooty's attempt at conversation. "She shares it with Eda."

  
"Thank you Luz." Amity said after taking a deep breath.

  
"No problem! I'll be with Eda in the kitchen if you need me." Luz opened the door and walked into the house.

  
"Wow, thanks Luz!" Hooty sighed. "You'll talk to me, right Amity?"

  
Amity walked right in after Luz and slammed the door behind her. 

  
-

  
The top floor hallway of The Owl House was absolutely packed. Various paintings hung on the wall. Some of the paintings were portraits, while others were messy landscapes. The lack of theme between the various paintings made Amity think that someone had just put as many pictures as they could on the wall in a hurry, not worrying about whether they matched or not. 

  
A giant cupboard sat against the wall on the left side, holding within it various plants and potion ingredients. On top of the dresser were used up candles and a glass container of unknown purple liquid that was most likely a potion. 

  
Two long candle holders stood next to the cupboard. One of them reminded Amity of a birdbath bowl, while the other one next to it was in the shape of of a perched owl.   
Next to the candle holders was a cloth-covered chest, a houseplant and what looked like amethyst crystals right next to it. Amity examined the amethysts and realized quite quickly that they were covered in a thick layer of dust. 

  
A memory suddenly reared its head into Amity's mind. A memory of Lilith. 

  
-

  
"Alright, Amity do as I do."

  
Lilith put her staff down and closed her eyes. She seemed to be focusing intently for a few seconds before drawing a bright blue circle in the air with her index finger. Once the circle was completed, various gemstones appeared all around her. Amity recognized some of them, but most were completely foreign to her. She knelt down to pick one of them up, a bright green gem in the shape of a square, but as soon as her hand connected with it, all of the gems disappeared with a poof. 

  
"What happened to them?" Amity asked, standing up. Lilith smiled.

  
"Illusion magic," Answered Lilith. "I know you're on the abomination track, but it does not hurt to learn how to do other types of spells."

  
"I'm not supposed to perform anything besides abomination magic, though!" Amity tried to explain, but Lilith put a finger to Amity's lips.

"I won't tell Principal Bump if you won't." Lilith winked at Amity. Amity was again about to challenge her mentor, but stopped before saying anything. This was Lilith, head of the Emperor's Coven, telling Amity that she could do more than just abomination magic. Amity's dream was to join the Emperor's Coven, where you could do more than just make abominations. Amity already knew other non-abomination spells that she practiced at home, so why was she trying to stop her mentor from teaching her more?

  
After a few moments of sifting through her thoughts, Amity looked up at Lilith and winked back. 

  
-

  
Amity smiled as the memory played in her mind. Lilith was sweet, despite being head of the Emperor's Coven, Amity thought. She stared intently at the amethyst for a few more minutes before realizing that she was wasting time. She needed to go see Lilith. 

  
Amity hurried down the hall a bit more until she saw a door. The door was lengthy, so lengthy that the very top of the frame touched the ceiling. It was separated into two even halves, a curved golden handle on either side. 

  
"You can do this, Amity!" Amity muttered to herself. After a few more moments of hyping herself up, Amity pulled on the door's handles and walked inside Lilith's room.

  
"Gotcha!" A shrill yell startled Amity as soon as she crossed the threshold into Lilith's room. Before Amity could react, what looked like various pieces of blue tape came at her and forced her up against the door. Tape connected her forehead, mouth, arms, as well as her legs to the door, as well as covered her body; she was stuck. Immobile. Defenseless.

  
Amity tried to protest, but all she did was suck the tape more into her mouth. 

  
"Oh no!" The voice that Amity recognized as the same as the one that yelled just a bit ago now sounded shocked. "Amity!"

  
A moment later, someone stepped in front of Amity's view: Lilith. 

  
"I'm so sorry!" Lilith walked up to Amity and ripped tape off of her mouth, Amity wincing slightly afterwards. "Are you okay?"

  
"I thought you couldn't use magic anymore." Amity wanted to say a lot more to Lilith, but that was the only thing that came out of her mouth. "That tape had your color..."

  
"I can't, you're right!" Amity noticed Lilith's cheeks were flushed red. "I just... set a trap!" 

  
"Why would you set a trap?"

  
"I know the Emperor is probably after me," Lilith started to explain, although she sounded slightly flustered. "So I set these traps to make sure I'm always prepared!"

  
Amity felt that something was... off. Lilith seemed embarrassed when she was asked about her magic usage, and her explanation did not make even a lick of sense. Lilith lived with Eda, Luz, King, and even Hooty, to an extent. Why would she need to make traps for the Emperor when she could end up hurting her loved ones with them? 

  
"Well, I should probably get that tape off of you now." Lilith began to rip the remaining tape off of Amity, with Amity wincing each time a piece of tape was ripped off. When all the tape was torn off, Amity dropped to the floor and looked around the room. 

  
The first thing Amity noticed, which she thought she imagined while she was panicking under the tape, was a nest in the far left corner of the room. It looked like an owl's nest. Amity knew she should have been surprised to see an actual nest in a house, but this particular house was called the Owl House. Of course there would be an owl's nest somewhere.

  
In the center of the room on the wall was a stained glass window. In Amity's opinion, she thought it was beautiful. All the colors combined exquisitely to make an eye shape, not unlike the eye of an owl. Once more, Amity was not surprised. 

  
The far right corner of the room contained a single, wooden bed. A blue blanket lay on top on it, as well as an open book. What looked like an ironing board stood right next to the bed, and on it were even more books. Books of various sizes, covers, and lengths were stacked on top of each other. Amity assumed this was Lilith's section of the room, and by process of elimination, came to the conclusion that the owl's nest was Eda's section. 

  
While the left side of the room, which Amity designated as Eda's side, was a mess, with various objects littered across the floor and with scratches on the walls, the right side of the room (Lilith's side, Amity assumed) was the pinnacle of what Amity considered to be neatness. Everything was stacked neatly, objects were placed in neat rows in an open cupboard, and property damage was kept to a minimum. 

  
As Amity scanned the room from her position in front of the door, Lilith crumpled up the pieces of tape into a ball. Amity began looking at Lilith as the latter opened her palm. Lilith, now noticing Amity staring at her, quickly closed her fist over the ball of tape and threw it across the room. 

  
"So, what are you doing here, Amity?" Lilith tried to sound casual, but Amity could notice that she sounded slightly frazzled. 

  
"I'm alright," Amity wished she had replied in a better way, but all she could think about was how oddly Lilith was acting. 

  
"That's good!" Lilith exclaimed. Amity noticed the panicked edge to Lilith's voice had stopped being apparent. She now sounded genuinely happy. Maybe Amity was just imagining everything after all. Amity shook her head slightly in an attempt to rid all thoughts of Lilith's suspicious behavior out of her mind. She just wanted to focus on reconnecting with her mentor. Lilith was most likely on-edge still due to the events that transpired at the Emperor's Castle. The fact that Amity thought she was acting suspicious when she's been through so much so recently made Amity feel like disappearing. 

  
Amity walked closer to Lilith and pulled her into an embrace, now crying into Lilith's stomach.

  
"I missed you so much and I'm sorry!" Amity sobbed, clutching the back of Lilith's dress. "I'm sorry for thinking all those things!"

  
"Amity, what are you talking about?" Lilith knelt down to Amity's level, gripping both of Amity's shoulders to pull her off. "Whatever it is, you have my forgiveness."

  
Amity sniffed and looked Lilith in the eyes. "Are you sure?" 

  
Lilith smiled. "Always."

  
Amity smiled back, but felt suddenly drowsy all of a sudden. Drowsy and ill.

  
"Is it alright if I lay down in your bed?" Amity asked, letting out a yawn. "I feel a bit sick." 

  
"Of course, my dear apprentice."

  
Amity began to walk slowly over to Lilith's bed, but before she could make it, she collapsed to the wooden floor with a thud. Pain began to coarse through Amity's body, but not the pain you would expect from landing on hard wood. A burning, aching pain. Something Amity had never felt before.

  
"Well, it's not Eda or Luz, but she will do."

Was that Lilith's voice? Amity could not tell. All Amity knew was the pain and the drowsiness. All she wanted to do was sleep.

  
"Sorry, Amity, but this had to be done."

  
Amity tried to speak, but before she could even open her mouth, she fell deep into unconsciousness.


	2. Lost.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lost  
> /lôst,läst/  
> 1\. unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts.  
> 2\. denoting something that has been taken away or cannot be recovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two here we goooooooo :) this one is a doozy and i hope you all enjoy

A voice.

A soft, gentle, strangely familiar voice.

When she opened her eyes to see where the voice's source was, all she saw instead was destruction. Blue flames flickered violently as they spread throughout what she assumed was a forest. Trees were falling at an alarming rate as the fire spread to their roots. She wanted to get up; she wanted to run away and never look back. Yet she stayed still, watching as the flames slowly inched closer to her.

"Amity?"

An echo: The familiar voice returned, and she finally pushed herself to get off the ground and back away from the flames. She knew she recognized the voice, but she could not remember anything. All that was on her mind now was the flames and how they were ravaging everything in sight.

"I'm sorry, Amity!"

Lilith?

She put a hand to her forehead as a sharp pain caused her to sway and fall back to the ground. Who was Lilith? She had no idea who that was, nor any idea who she herself was.

She looked straight ahead. The flames were coming toward her at a now alarming rate. Once more she stayed still, and with a flash of blue, the flames engulfed her.

-

" _¿Qué coño?_ Eda!"

Luz had not seen either Amity or Lilith for a few hours now. At first, she had assumed that they were catching up, but the longer Amity was away, the more Luz grew worried; and it turns out she was right to feel that way, because neither Amity or Lilith were anywhere to be found when she opened the door to Eda and Lilith's room.

Luz heard creaking wood, followed by the sound of footsteps, and soon Luz could see Eda running down the corridor to Luz's position.

"What's wrong, Luz?" Eda was panting heavily. "Sorry about the breathing, these old bones aren't what they used to be."

"Amity and Lilith are gone!" Luz could not hide the panic in her voice that was rising to an almost boiling point as the situation continued sinking in.

"Oh, that's it?" Eda let out a laugh. "They might've just gone into Bonesborough without either of us noticing!"

"Amity would have told me if she and Lilith were going anywhere!" Luz felt like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. "This is serious, Eda!"

Eda's face fell. "Sorry, I'm sorry. Let's go look for them, okay?"

Luz nodded. The two raced back down the corridor and subsequently down the stairs.

"I'll grab some things from the kitchen." Eda said. "Grab all your stuff."

Before Luz could reply, Eda had already walked into the kitchen. She sighed and began to hurriedly search through the living room. Luz was not one for organization, which was why all her stuff was littered around the whole of the living room. As Luz attempted to gather her belongings (including her various spell glyphs), though, she heard King's voice come from behind.

"What's wrong, Luz?" King let out a yawn. "You woke me up from my peaceful nap with your loud human screeching!"

"King," Luz turned around, knelt, and gripped King's shoulders. "Can you watch the Owl House while Eda and I are away?"

"Where are you guys going?" King asked. "Why can't I come with you?"

"I'm trusting you to watch the Owl House because I have faith in you." Luz explained. "One of a king's duties is to protect his castle, after all."

King stroked his chin and seemed to be lost in thought for a few moments before embracing Luz in a hug. In return, Luz kissed his forehead.

"I like the sound of that!" King exclaimed. "You can trust me fully, Luz!"

Luz let go of King and gave a thumbs up at him. She turned back around and piled the rest of her nearby stuff into one of Eda's makeshift tote bags that happened to be in the vicinity. Slinging the bag over her left shoulder, Luz began to make way for the door.

"Alright, I'm ready." Luz saw Eda exiting the kitchen with a bag of her own in one hand and a cerulean cape in the other.

"What's the cape for?" Luz had to admit that even though she was incredibly worried about Amity, her thoughts had somewhat strayed to how cool that cape was.

"It's a present for you!" Eda walked around Luz to face her back, beginning to tie the cape around her neck. "I was supposed to give it to you way earlier, but after everything that happened with Belos, it slipped my mind completely."

"Thank you, Eda," Luz pulled Eda into a hug. "Now let's go find Amity."

-

She felt a migraine throbbing inside her skull as soon as she regained consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she still could not see a thing. Black, empty space surrounded her on all sides. It was suffocating, and she felt like she was trapped. She looked down to see anything; her legs, her feet, anything that could bring her comfort and assure her that this was not all there was. But there was nothing. Nothing except the same black, empty space.

"Are you sure this will work?"

There was that sweet, gentle voice again. She wanted to call out to the voice, but no sound came from her when she tried. It was like she had forgotten how to speak altogether.

"Do not question me. Don't forget what will happen if you step out of line again, Lilith."

A deep, cold voice that was very unlike the gentle one from before cut through the air, immediately filling her with immense dread.

"My apologies, Emperor." The gentle voice returned, although it sounded more worried than the last time she had heard it.

"I am certain this will work, but if this plan fails..."

The cold voice trailed off.

"Do not let it fail."

Everything about this was confusing. What plan? Who were these voices? She could not see anyone, not even herself, and yet she could hear these two voices as clearly as if they were talking right next to her. Not to mention that she recognized the gentleness of one of their voices.

She strained her memory, trying to remember anything else about that voice. It felt like more information was on the tip of her tongue as long as she kept thinking. Thinking, thinking thinking. It felt like that was all she was doing for an eternity when...

"I am so, so sorry Amity."

She closed her eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.

-

Eda and Luz had looked everywhere for Amity and Lilith. They had scanned the cobblestone roads of Bonesborough, trespassed on Hexside and looked all throughout the empty classrooms, and had torn through the Bonesborough Library's various rows of books, but they still could not find the two wayward witches. The task was even more demanding due to Eda's lack of magic, meaning they could not just travel on Eda's staff like they used to when going on long journeys. They had to travel everywhere on foot.

"Can we stop and take a rest?" Eda sat down on the steps that led into the Bonesborough Library. "My old bones just cannot handle this, and it's getting dark too."

"We need to find Amity!" Luz stood in front of Eda and looked down at her.

"It's not just Amity, Luz!" Luz could sense a bit of hostility in Eda's voice. "My sister is missing, too!"

Realization suddenly hit Luz. She was only worrying about Amity. Her thoughts were only focused on finding Amity and bringing her home safely, with no regard for Lilith or Eda's feelings. Luz could see tears welling up in Eda's eyes, but the older witch quickly wiped her eyes with her arm.

"I'm sorry for snapping at ya, kiddo." Eda sniffed and patted the empty space right next to her, seemingly beckoning Luz to sit down next to her. "I just... assumed you were overreacting earlier. I know I shouldn't have, but then it hit me, just now. It hit me that they really are gone."

"Don't say that!" Luz sat down next to Eda. "We'll find them, I promise."

Eda smiled. "Thanks, Luz."

Luz nodded, got up, and held out her hand for Eda to hold. "You're the older witch, Eda, what should we do?"

Eda grasped Luz's hand, and Luz helped pull Eda up.

"Let's go home, get some rest, and pick everything back up tomorrow, okay?" Luz's face fell a bit, but Eda put a hand on her shoulder. "I swear we'll continue first thing, but we need rest, Luz. You're still a kid, and I'm still an old lady with a curse."

Luz hesitated a bit, but then nodded in agreement. She did not want to stop looking for Amity. She was willing to search all night for her, but she knew Eda would never allow that.

So that's why Luz was planning on sneaking out.

-

As soon as Luz knew Eda was asleep in her nest, she got out of bed and began her trek downstairs. The stairs were known to creak, meaning she had to be careful so she did not wake Eda (or King, who was resting in Eda's room) up. The pockets of moonlight inching inside the house through the window guided Luz down the stairs, helping to make sure that she did not step on any spots that she knew would make any sort of creaking noise. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Luz breathed deeply, finally able to relax.

Luz grabbed her cloak from the hook next to the front door, tied it around her neck, and exited the Owl House. After closing the door, she heard a shrill voice from behind her.

"Wow, Luz, are you really up to talk to little old' me?"

It was Hooty. Luz whipped around and groaned as quietly as she could.

"Hooty, whisper!" Luz cupped her hands around her mouth in an attempt to make her whisper audible.

"Why, Luz?" Hooty was still talking as loud as he usually talks.

"Because I said so, okay?"

"Oh, is this a game?" Hooty was finally whispering.

"Yes, Hooty-"

Suddenly, an idea came to Luz. If Amity and Lilith had left the house, that must mean...

"Hooty, did you see Amity and Lilith out here earlier?"

"I sure did, Luz!" Hooty said.

"Where did they go?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just tell me, Hooty!" Luz could not help but raise her voice. She did not hate Hooty, but he could be incredibly difficult sometimes.

"Alright, alright, geez! I don't know where they went, but Lilith was carrying Amity in her arms, and then they flew north!"

"Wait a second," Luz paused and looked intently at Hooty. "What do you mean they flew?"

"They flew on Lilith's staff, duh!" Hooty rolled his eyes as if this were obvious.

"Lilith can't use her staff anymore, though, she shared Eda's curse..." Luz trailed off as realization hit her. That panic she felt when she had first noticed Amity was gone returned in full force, even worse this time. Luz felt like she was going to vomit all over Hooty and the Owl House's front lawn.

"I think I know where they went." Luz's voice shook. She had no idea how she knew that Amity and Lilith were at Emperor Belos's castle. She just did.

"I have to go, now!" Luz, as if on instinct, turned around to face the forest surrounding the Owl House and started to run. She had no spell glyphs; she had nothing she could use to defend herself, but she did not care. All she cared about was Amity and how much she could be suffering. All she cared about was getting to Amity as fast as possible, no matter the cost.

-

"What do you mean, Luz is gone?"

Eda stared at Hooty angrily, her arms folded.

"Yeah, she went straight into the forest last night!"

"And you didn't stop her?" Eda wanted to strangle Hooty.

"Well, sorry, Eda! I can't exactly do anything when I'm stuck to this door!"

"You could have stretched your neck out to stop her!" Eda kicked the door in frustration as tears welled up in her eyes. She slumped to the ground and began crying; crying harder than she has cried since she was still a child.

"I'm sorry, Eda." Hooty let out what sounded like a genuine apology. Eda looked up at the owl and exhaled.

"It's fine," Eda stood up and looked at Hooty. "I'm going to go look for Luz. Do not wake King up, and if he asks where Luz and I are, make up an excuse."

"What kind of excuse?"

"I don't know, anything!" Eda put her face in her hands. "Don't be difficult, Hooty, please!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry. You can count on me, Eda!"

Eda turned around to face the forest. Her instincts told her to be mad that Luz had gone off without her permission, but all she felt was a growing worry deep inside her. Even if Luz was ambitious and obnoxious and foolhardy most of the time, she was still Eda's responsibility. She (as well as Lilith). Eda promised herself that she was going to find Luz, Lilith, and Amity no matter what. Even if she had to travel all throughout the treacherous lands that plagued the entirety of the Boiling Isles. She would not stop until they were all safe and sound.

"Hey, Eda?"

"What, Hooty?" Eda turned back to face the owl.

"Isn't that Luz up there in the sky?"

Hooty stretched his neck to point at something from above. When Eda looked to face where he was pointing, her jaw subconsciously dropping.

Luz was up in the sky, driving what looked like a blue, roofless, and very fuzzy bus with wings.

-

Luz Noceda was never one for grand theft auto. In fact, she could safely say it has never been on her itinerary up until about an hour ago. She had been looking for someone to ride her to the Emperor's castle, but she figured no one would be stupid enough to take a strange human girl to see actual royalty. So she decided to look for her own vehicle. Or, in more appropriate terms, she was going to find someone else's vehicle that she was then going to steal. And it was just her luck that this flying bus came into her view on her search, its key still right in the driver's seat.

It had taken a few moments for her to figure out that the key was a key, though. Because the key happened to be an eyeball that you had to put in a hole next to the steering wheel. When she had finally figured it out, it took another few moments for Luz to work up the courage to actually touch it. She eventually did, though, and as soon as the eyeball slid into the hole, the bus's engine started, or at least, Luz assumed that ear-piercing scream was the start of the engine.

Luz had never driven a bus, or even a car for that matter, so when she pressed her foot on what she assumed was the engine, she was surprised when the bus started flapping its wings and started taking flight. She had figured that all of this would be simple; that she could just fly in the sky, find what looked like a castle, and then land in nearby and valiantly attempt to rescue Amity.

She was dead wrong, of course. Luz was still up in the sky, scanning the ground below to locate anything that looked the slightest like a castle. She had no idea how long she had been up there, turning the wheel in various directions and looking down at the ground every few seconds to see where she was, but she assumed it had been almost an hour already.

"Come on!" Luz sighed in frustration. "A castle can't be this hard to find from up here!"

Luz's stomach suddenly started rumbling. She was in such a hurry to find Amity that she forgot to eat beforehand or bring any food at all.

"Figures." Luz rolled her eyes and pressed on what she assumed were the brakes of the bus. If she wanted to find Amity, she had to keep her strength up in case she had to fight anyone at the castle. Not taking a rest to eat would only harm Amity in the long run.

"Hopefully, there's a food stand around here," Luz said to herself as she flipped a switch next to the wheel labeled "LOWER". The bus, as expected from the label, started to descend as soon as Luz had flipped the switch on. After a few minutes, the bus landed softly on the ground below.

Luz took the key out of the hole, placed it on the driver's seat, hopped out of the bus, fastened the cape around her neck, and looked around to see where exactly she was in more detail.

The bus had landed in a clearing that was surrounded by trees; the clearing itself completely empty except for the grass that covered the ground.

"Wrong place to land," Luz muttered. "Might as well look somewhere else."

As Luz was about to get back into the bus, however, she heard a voice come from inside the trees.

"What was that sound?"

Luz then heard rustling coming straight across from where she was. Not wanting to get into a confrontation with someone who might be feral and dangerous, Luz hid underneath the driver's seat of the bus. And it was a good thing she did, because Luz could hear footsteps making their way toward the bus.

"This forest is supposed to be enchanted, why is this here?" Luz covered her mouth, attempting to not make a single sound. She knew who this voice belonged to.

It belonged to Lilith.

"Well, no matter. I will drive this to the Emperor, and he can deal with it."

Luz heard footsteps going around the bus, and subsequently heard the bus door open. She saw black heels make their way to the driver's seat, and after a pause that Luz assumed was Lilith picking up the key, felt the seat sink to just above Luz's head. Lilith was sitting down in the driver's seat with Luz directly underneath. After hearing a squelching noise that Luz assumed was Lilith fiddling with the eyeball key, Luz heard the engine scream once more, and then the flapping of wings.

Luz knew she should have felt more scared than she did. She knew she should have felt angrier. Yet she was strangely determined. Lilith was leading her right to the Emperor's castle, straight to Amity. All of Luz's thoughts focused on finding Amity and bringing her back home for the rest of the time that Lilith was driving the bus.

-

Eda felt like all the bones in her body were going to collapse as she ran in the direction of the bus. She had no idea how long she had been running, but she knew she could not stop. If it really was Luz in there, Eda had to find her and bring her home.

After what felt like an eternity of running, stopping for a few seconds, and then continuing to run after the bus, Eda saw the bus stop in mid-air. She stood in place, looking up to see what the bus would do next, and was incredibly relieved when it started descending to the ground. Eda quietly tip-toed through the area around where the bus stopped: A heavily wooded forest with many twigs on the ground that Eda had to step around.

Through the trees, Eda heard the bus land on the ground with a groan. She followed the sound, stepping over twigs and quietly moving bushes out of the way until she could get a clear view of the bus. She was forced to peer above a clump of bushes in order to see the bus, but she really could not care less. All she wanted was confirmation that it really was Luz in there.

And it was. Eda saw what was obviously Luz, her cape trailing behind her and everything, hop out of the bus and start to look around. Eda could even swear that she could hear Luz mumbling to herself, but that thought was interrupted when she heard a voice coming directly across from where the bus landed. Eda did not catch what the voice said, but saw Luz jump back into the bus and start to look around. Eda then saw Luz dive to what Eda assumed was the floor of the bus, causing Luz to be entirely out of Eda's view now.

Eda heard rustling coming from where she had heard the voice and had to cover her mouth in order to muffle her gasp of surprise.

It was Lilith, but she looked... different. The streak of gray that Lilith had obtained from Eda's curse was gone, causing her dyed, dark blue hair to be returned fully. Her gemstone also appeared to be back to normal.

Eda felt a mix of relief that she had found both Luz and Lilith, but a new flavor of panic swirled inside her. Where was Amity, and why did Lilith look like she did before the curse?

Eda watched nervously as Lilith looked around the bus, murmuring things that Eda could not hear. Eventually, Lilith whirled around to the front of the bus, opened the door, and in a few moments, the bus was flapping its wings again, soaring higher and higher into the air with Lilith in the driver's seat.

"So much for finding them," Eda got up from her hiding place and began to follow the bus as it flew northward. She had a lot of questions, but right now, her only thoughts were on catching up to Luz and Lilith, finding Amity, and bringing them all home safe.

-

What both Eda and Luz both did not know or even think about, however, was how difficult it would be to bring Amity back. They had both had located Lilith, but not Amity, and foolishly assumed that finding Amity and bringing her back home would be a piece of cake.

Yet they were both sadly mistaken.


End file.
